


someone's in a good mood

by wjock



Category: The Strange Case of Starship Iris (Podcast)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Injury, Light Dom/sub
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-18 15:54:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21279323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wjock/pseuds/wjock
Summary: Arkady gets stubborn about an injury. Sana’s stubborn back, and they both learn something new.
Relationships: Arkady Patel/Sana Tripathi
Comments: 12
Kudos: 21
Collections: Femdom Exchange 2019





	someone's in a good mood

**Author's Note:**

  * For [reconditarmonia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reconditarmonia/gifts).

Sana’s missed this. The exhilaration, the thrumming between her legs, Arkady’s arms wrapped tight around her waist. It takes all of Sana’s skill to curve the motorcycle around the next corner, and the sick crunch of metal and blaring of horns that is the mob’s cars failing to make the turn is a satisfying note to end this song on.

She smiles. “Update?”

She feels Arkady shift against her back. The comm-patched reply means the rush of air and revving of the bike are no obstacles to their conversation. “All clear. No more cars following us.”

Sana sets their bike in the direction of the motel they’re laying low at tonight. “Still think bikes deserve their bad rep?”

“You can shoot out of a car or a truck. Can’t really do that now at this speed,” responds Arkady. Her empty hands flex against Sana’s torso, her dissatisfaction that all she’s been doing is clinging on to Sana evident.

Sana makes a noise of acknowledgement. “How’s the leg?”

“It’s fine,” says Arkady, not so quickly that Sana has reason to suspect a half-truth, “don’t slow down.” 

She doesn’t. They reach the motel in record time, even for her, and Sana feels Arkady’s weight leave the bike as soon as it stops. A pained grunt accompanies the movement. 

“Bike okay?” asks Arkady. She’s not looking at Sana or the bike, but at the rest of the dim parking lot, her hand on the gun in her right hip holster. She’s favoring her right leg.

Sana gives her full attention to the bike. “Not a scratch.”

“That’s one good piece of news. You first, I’ll keep a lookout.”

Sana snorts. She circles around to Arkdy’s injured side, careful that her arm around Arkady’s waist wouldn’t block an attempt to pull her gun. Arkady grumbles, “I can make the ten feet to our room.”

“I know,” says Sana, feeling Arkady lean against her anyway. Arkady’s movements are tense, in that way she gets after a fight, but Sana’s are smooth enough for the both of them. A good surge of adrenaline has always centered Sana. Makes the next step to take clearer. 

The motel room door locks shut behind them, and Sana leads Arkady to sit on the bed. Arkady disentangles herself from Sana, shaking her head as if to clear it. “I should walk the perimeter, make sure-”

“Your leg is injured.”

“It’s barely anything, Captain, you’ve seen me push through worse.”

“They’re not going to be looking for us here. They’re going to be looking for a ship leaving the planet.” The _Rumor’_s landing site is a day’s ride from the city. Between Arkady’s injury and the mob’s reach here, Sana doesn’t want to push their luck. Guess Arkady had been right that Sana was being overly optimistic in planning a little planet-side vacation before the deal had been settled, but hey, the motel room was coming in handy now.

“Still.” Arkady’s fingers drum against the bedsheets. “We don’t know for sure.” She grins, teeth bared. “You can even give me a good luck kiss.”

She looks too hopeful for Sana to deny her. Sana kisses her, her hands finding Arkady’s to intertwine their fingers. Arkady rises into the kiss, the motion desperate and quick. Sana reluctantly pulls back. She rests her forehead against Arkady’s and for a moment, takes in the sound of their uneven breaths. “No perimeter walk. It’s an unnecessary risk.” 

“Fine.” Arkady slumps her side against the headboard.

“Mind if we take a look at your leg?”

“Sure, not like there’s much else to do.” Arkady leans down to free her injured foot, and Sana bends down on a knee to free the other foot. “Let me.” Arkady winces, raising her hips off the bed to shuck off her pants. Sana helps as much she can. ”See? It’s not even bleeding.”

No, there isn’t any bleeding. There’s a swollen ankle with dark bruising started to show. Higher up on Arkady’s calf there’s a wide stripe of flesh charred darker than the skin around it, specks of cloth scattered around it. Gunshot had grazed her while they were speeding away on the bike. Sana’s hand curls around the calf, thumb resting on the unbroken skin below the wound.

A better outcome than several other possibilities. A gunshot hitting a vehicle or Sana would have slowed down their getway. These injuries won’t delay them any more than needing to lay low does. 

To Sana, that only makes it all the more important to take care of them.

“I should’ve seen that coming,” Arkady’s voice grouches from above.

“The gunshot?” asks Sana dryly.

“No, the rival mob getting mad at a couple of outsiders interfering.”

Sana frowns. “Admittedly, that was my responsibility. If we weren’t running low on-”

“I know,” Arkady interrupts, snappish, “Sana, you really don’t have to worry about disappointing my scruples.”

_I think I do_. It would help no one to voice that reflexive thought. The trust Arkady puts in her decisions, ever since that day on those Telemachian docks, possibly even earlier, it’s - Sana should find it terrifying. She shouldn’t find it as comforting or as exhilarating as she does.

Sana murmurs, “I’ll get some ice for your leg.”

Arkady grabs her hand when Sana stands up. “Don’t. I’ll live.” She flashes a weak smirk. “Unnecessary risk, right?”

Sana narrows her eyes. Arkady may often take a blatantly inaccurate view of what injuries counted as major, but she never lies about what she can endure. Sana can appreciate that.

They compromise. A towel doused in water as cold as the bathroom faucet dispenses substitutes as a makeshift compress for Arkady’s ankle tonight. Sana wets another small towel to wipe down Arkady’s leg, over Arkady’s initial complaints. She lingers over the injuries. She thinks to herself, not for the first time, that she’s always been far better at dealing with damaged machines than damaged bodies, though she’s handy enough to figure out either in a pinch. 

“Pretty sure my leg’s never been cleaner, Captain.” Arkady takes the cloth from Sana, tossing it aside. “Come on, we both know you’re in the mood after a good chase.”

Arkady isn’t exactly wrong. The craving in Sana fully uncoils as she shuffles along the bed to sink into a kiss, her knees on either side of Arkady’s uninjured leg. They take their time with this one. Arkady slowly leans back into the headboard. Sana shifts her weight with Arkady’s movements as she has so many times before, her fingers toying with Arkady’s hair. 

She feels Arkady’s hand slip under her shirt. It stills immediately, accompanied by a pained hiss from Arkady.

Sana reluctantly peels herself off to give Arkady a look. “If it’s hurting you, we’re not-”

“Ha, very funny, Sana.” Arkady screws up her face in frustration. She gestures at her wrapped up ankle. “I can’t move that much without moving it too.”

“Then stop moving.” Sana shrugs. Simple problem, simple solution. 

Arkady’s tone turns mocking. “What, you want me to just lie back and look pretty?” 

Sana contemplates the woman in front of her. Her gaze sweeps past Arkady’s clever eyes, the scar across her left cheek, the hair she pretends she doesn’t put any effort into styling. Her arousal finds little objection to Arkady’s joking suggestion. “Sure.”

Arkady doesn’t scowl in response. Instead, a lazy half-smile makes its way across her face. “Guess I can follow that order, Captain.”

Sana jerks against Arkady’s half-bare thigh, the friction welcome

“You liked that,” says Arkady, eyes glinting. “You get off to it? Being heeded?” 

“Kady, that’s not-”

“Aren’t you the one who likes going on about the importance of honesty? Think it’d apply here too. Besides”-Here the bravado slips away from Arkady’s voice a little-”I didn’t say I was opposed.”

Sana takes a break from being mortified to realize that Arkady’s body is slack. Unmoving, with hands half-curled on the sheets, sharp eyes waiting patiently for Sana’s response. That’s something new. Arkady isn’t really the waiting sort at all, and Sana can’t help but wonder how much effort Arkady’s exerting to still herself. For Sana. Heat fills her at the thought. 

“I can see that,” says Sana slowly.

Arkady waggles her eyebrows. It’s charming, because it’s her. “Well then, Captain, got any more orders for the night?”

Several come to mind. Each has its own appeal. And yet, Sana shakes her head. She slides Arkady’s shirt up.

“Not yet.” Sana splays a hand over Arkady’s abs, and marvels at the warmth and tension underneath her fingers. “I think this one could keep us occupied for a while."


End file.
